University of Vermont Extension
Department of Plant and Soil Science

Summer News
Article

DAZZLING DAYLILIES

Dr. Leonard Perry, Extension Professor
University of Vermont

Daylilies have become a popular in many gardens as they are colorful
and one of the easiest perennials to grow under a range of conditions.
If you only know the orange daylilies naturalized along roadsides, be prepared
to be dazzled by the vast range of colors and flower types.

More than 38,000 registered varieties have been developed by plant breeders,
with 15,000 or so still in production and available at nurseries.
The basic colors include reds, oranges, yellows, pinks, and purples. There
are tints (lighter versions) and shades (darker versions) of each of these,
and combinations. Breeders have worked in recent years to produce “near
white” varieties.

The inside center of the flower, the “throat”, is often a different
color. If the zone between the throat and petal tips is a different
color, the flower is called “eyed” or “banded.” If the edges of the
flowers are a different color, they may be called “picotee.” The
midrib of the flower petals may be a different color, or one color may
be spotted or “dusted” over another color.

Daylily flowers also can have different forms. When viewed from
the front of the flower they can appear rounded, triangular, star shaped
(often the flower petals are long and separate, and may be called “spidery”),
ruffled when the flower petals have ruffles along the edges, or double
if there are more than the usual three petals and three sepals (false petals
which often look just like the petals).

The scientific name of daylily (Hemerocallis) comes from the
Greek words for “beauty” and “day”. Individual blooms generally last only
one day, hence the common name. So even though a flower may only be open
for a day, with many new flowers opening daily, a daylily may bloom over
a period or two or three weeks on average. One goal of breeders has been
to increase the number of flower stalks, or “scapes”, per plant as well
as the number of blooms per scape. It is not uncommon to have a mature
clump with 200 to 300 blooms during the season. Choose early, mid-season
and late varieties, and you can have continuous blooms over a three month
period. You can also get repeat blooms from some selections such
as Stella d’Oro and Happy Returns.

Related to lilies, daylilies were originally placed in the lily family
(Liliaceae). They are often referred to as lilies, yet differ in
significant ways. They have leaves, and many flower stalks, arising
from the base. True lilies have flowers on a main stalk along with
leaves. Daylilies have thick storage roots, while lilies arise from
bulbs. Now daylilies are placed in their own family (Hemerocallidaceae).

Although the daylily is a popular American landscape plant, it actually
had its origins in temperate regions of Asia. Breeders in the United
States and England have been improving this genus since the early 1930s.
It is amazing to think our myriad varieties today all originally were selected
or bred from orange, yellow, and red species.

Bloom time varies from July through October, depending on the cultivar
(cultivated variety). One of my earliest to bloom, often in late
June, is Bertie Ferris (persimmon orange). Other early choices blooming
with iris or shortly after include Forever Stella (gold, small flowers),
Happy Returns (canary yellow version of Stella d’Oro), and of course the
most popular of all time, Stella d’Oro (golden yellow). My favorite late
cultivars, blooming in September, are Final Touch (pink) and Autumn Minaret
(yellow spider shape with light brown markings). The latter is also
one of the tallest, its flower scapes reaching six feet.